Lives of the companions

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Three formats, three uses

A biographical dictionary lists every known companion, alphabetically, with a short entry: you open it to identify a name met in a chain of transmission. A thematic collection recounts their conduct by subject and reads from end to end. A monograph treats a single figure in depth. All three are here, and the product page states which one you are looking at.

The reference works

Al-Isaba fi tamyiz as-sahaba by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani: the fullest dictionary of the genre, in volumes. It is the tool of anyone reading chains of transmission.
Usd al-ghaba fi ma'rifat as-sahaba by Ibn al-Athir: earlier than the above and one of its sources.
Hayat as-sahaba by Muhammad Yusuf al-Kandahlawi: a thematic collection in several volumes, built for continuous reading rather than for research.
The monographs on the four caliphs, on Khadija, Aisha, Bilal, Khalid ibn al-Walid and other figures.
The biographies for children, vowelled, often in series.

Companions, scholars, salaf: what goes where

This shelf covers the companions, the first generation. Biographies of scholars covers the following generations, arranged by tabaqat and by school. The salaf gathers the accounts of conduct of the first three generations taken together, with an edifying rather than documentary aim. Three shelves, three scopes, no overlap.

What to check

The kind of work among the three formats above, since that is the commonest source of error. The volume count on Al-Isaba and Hayat as-sahaba. The editor. And on children's series, the intended age and the vowelling. These points are stated on each product page.

Related shelves

For the setting of their lives, Sira: the classical sources. For what followed politically, History of the caliphs and of Islam. For the transmitters and their reliability, Hadith. To browse by author, Authors. Overview: History.

Order and shipping

Real stock displayed, dispatch within 24 to 48 working hours, delivery to France, Europe and the rest of the world. Tell us whether you want to identify a name or to read accounts: they are not the same books.

Al-Isaba or Hayat as-sahaba?

Two opposite uses. Al-Isaba by Ibn Hajar is a dictionary: you open it to identify a name met in a chain of transmission, and you do not read it through. Hayat as-sahaba is a thematic collection, built for continuous reading. Take the first to look things up, the second to read.

How does this differ from the Biographies of scholars shelf?

The scope. This shelf covers the companions, the first generation. Biographies of scholars covers the following generations, arranged by tabaqat and by school. And The salaf gathers the accounts of conduct of the first three generations taken together, with an edifying aim. Three shelves, three scopes.

Are there individual biographies?

Yes, on the four caliphs, on Khadija and Aisha, on Bilal, Khalid ibn al-Walid and other figures. A monograph goes further than a dictionary entry and stays far shorter than a volume set. Tell us the name you are after and we will say what exists on it.

Why do indexes matter on this shelf?

Because a multi-volume biographical dictionary without a name index is nearly unusable: you are after one specific transmitter, not a read. We flag the presence of indexes on the product page, with the volume count and the editor, the three points that decide a copy's real usefulness.